I think I've made my dislike of Pierce quite clear in previous reviews. I am continually bemused as to why this group puts up with him. It's not like he's a relation and they have to put up with him because of all that pesky family crap. So I'm not going to talk about Pierce, his fake girlfriend (as in she’s a corporate spy using him to take over his company), or Jeff’s unwillingness to accept that some people don’t find him attractive.

So let's move on...

Abed enrols in a class dedicated to popular sitcom Who’s The Boss? (that’s just an assumption on my part, I know nothing about this show apart from that fact it starred one of the sisters from Charmed). The class is taught by the esteemed Professor Stephen Tobolowsky (I know, I can’t believe they actually got him), who starts his class by asking his students the all-important question: just who was the boss? Naturally, Abed interprets this literally and answers Angela, because she was literally the boss. The professor laughs in Abed’s face, amused that the answer to a question as complex as “Who's the boss?” could be anything as simplistic as “Angela”. And he should know because he’s an academic, not a fan (despite having photos of himself with the cast like a fan), therefore his conclusions, whatever they are, cannot be questioned.

But Abed will not back down. He reads the Professor’s book and believes that his conclusions are flawed. The Professor, offended that Abed, a mere student, would dare question his work, challenges Abed to teach the next class and prove him wrong. Big mistake. Because now Abed makes it his mission to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that Angela was indeed the boss, delivering an analytic smackdown that leaves Professor Stephen Tobolowsky shaking.

This entire storyline was mocking academics who tend to over analyse texts, searching for the deeper meaning where there may be no deeper meaning and asking questions they expect no one to provide a definite answer to. But it was a one joke storyline that could’ve easily been wrapped up in one scene, and wasted a good guest star like Stephen Tobolowsky.

One guest star that wasn’t wasted was Kevin Corrigan, returning here as drama Professor Sean Garrity. Britta and Troy were attending his acting course to improve their dancing. Even though the storyline was about Troy and his lack of inner pain, I couldn’t help thinking about Professor Garrity and how nice it would be if we saw more of him. Then I started thinking about the school’s other faculty members and how few recurring ones there are.

There were a lot more of them last season, including the Dean, Duncan, It, the currently missing Professor Slater and Dead Poet Society guy. But this season there’s only really been Duncan and the Dean. Even the special guest star teachers seem to have dried up. Professor Stephen Tobolowsky is the first one we've had in a long while. Did they blow their annual budget on Professor Betty White?

Notes and Quotes

--So what was happening? Abed, do you have the answer?

--In 'Communication Studies' Abed said that he never saw more than the opening credits of Who's the Boss?. Guess he got over that.

--It warms my heart slightly that people are now saying "Veronica Mars" instead of "Nancy Drew".

--One reason to keep Garrity is so we get more of his plays, like his all black production of Fiddler on the Roof, Fiddler Plez (book and lyrics by Professor Sean Garrity). I wonder what he would do with something by Chekov?

Abed: "Britta is attracted to men in pain. It helps her pretend to be mentally healthy."

Shirley: "Oh, they've got a class on how to write jokes."
Annie: "Oh, don't take that. I dropped it after the lesson on set-ups. The professor is so old..."
--One of the series' best gags. It doesn't really work in quote form though.

Two out of four sisters from Charmed.
---Mark Greig has been writing for Doux Reviews since 2011. More Mark Greig.